Obama, Biden Might Travel Abroad At Same Time

[1]President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden might do something next Tuesday that is rarely done by a president and vice president: travel abroad at the same time[2].

Obama is scheduled to leave Tuesday night on a trip to the Middle East. Earlier that same day, Biden will be in Rome, attending ceremonies for the installation of the new Pope[3].

What’s unclear is whether or not Biden will be coming back to the United States before Obama leaves. According to White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes, “I actually don’t know for certain if they’ll be abroad at the same time.” Biden’s official schedule for that day has yet to be released[4].

Typically, the president and vice president do their best to avoid this sort of scheduling, for security reasons, since travel abroad is inherently riskier. Still, according to Rhodes, “We do take those considerations into account and do prudent planning to ensure that we are prepared for any contingencies and we often seek to coordinate their travel for that purpose.”

And if the absolute worst case scenario happened to Obama and Biden? The third person in line for presidential succession, House Speaker John Boehner, would take over.

– Benjamin Nanamaker, InvestorPolitics Editor

The opinions contained in this column are solely those of the writer.

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